Wishful Thinking
by Wolf126
Summary: Tali makes some surprising discoveries on the SSV Normandy. A brief look at ME1. M!Shepard/Tali. One-shot.


_Character(s): Commander Nolan Shepard and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy._

_Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. The _Mass Effect_ series belongs solely to BioWare and EA._

_Because I was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction for _**Elevator Revelations**_, I decided to publish this as well.__ I found it on my hardrive as another sort of behind-the-scenes look at what I think might have happened while Tali and Shepard settled in on the _SSV Normandy_ in ME1._

_A predecessor of sorts to _**Elevator Revelations**_ and _**To Build A Home **_in which Tali and Shepard have their first one-on-one conversation, and Tali makes some surprising discoveries. Not so much fluff in this one as in _**Elevator Revelations**_, I'm afraid. And I know this isn't one of my finer works.  
_

_Also, at the time I am writing this, I would like to formally acknowledge Thy King, chidoriprime, Pobre, Para-Cord, treehuger90, OhSoDeadly, Tattoo'd, and last but not least, my anonymous reviewer for taking the time to leave me a comment on my last ME one-shot. Thank you so much and let me just say that you guys/gals rock! _

_Constructive criticism is welcome. Please, no flames._

_Enjoy._

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**Wishful Thinking**

**oOoOo**

It was with awestruck wonderment that Tali'Zorah nar Rayya watched the revolving Tantalus Drive Core. In terms of aesthetics, the metallic sphere was imbued with purplish energy that arced across its surface, and it was _beautiful_. On a much grander scale, it was the sole device responsible for powering the most advanced star-ship in the Alliance Navy, and quite possibly the entire galaxy. This technology was the reason they could travel faster than the speed of light, and without it, every species in the galaxy would likely be stranded in their own systems. The _SSV Normandy_'s drive core also had another purpose, or so she'd come to learn. Because of its sheer size, it was capable of absorbing heat, which rendered the Normandy all but invisible to enemy ships.

She was still amazed that Commander Shepard had not only agreed to let her accompany him on his hunt for Saren Arterius, but also given her his permission to study the _SSV Normandy_'s engine and life-support systems. This was comparable to exposing a current red sand addict to the purest, most effective stuff in all the galaxy, and its effects were dizzying. Never before had she seen such advanced technology and, by comparison, the _SSV Normandy_ made the _Rayya_ and many other ships in the Migrant Fleet seem antiquated and nothing more than space-worthy heaps of scrap-metal. Back on the _Rayya_, it seemed like there was something going wrong with the ship's systems everyday, and repairs were constantly being made with what little supplies they had on hand. After all, quarians were well-known for their ingenuity with technology, even if they were treated like outcastes by the rest of the galaxy.

Tali was, in fact, so busy studying the drive core and letting her thoughts wander that she didn't hear the pressurized doors open behind her and a pair of footsteps approach, accompanied by the shrill warning, _"Commanding officer on deck!"_

So fascinated was she in the workings of the _SSV Normandy_ that she almost didn't hear the polite cough behind her, which, of course, startled her, and caused her to whirl around, throwing herself off balance. Fortunately for them both, her visitor was dextrous enough to catch her before she fell atop him, and just then, he looked just as surprised as she felt.

"Careful, now," said Commander Nolan Shepard with an easy-going, lopsided grin. "Don't hurt yourself."

This mild tease, of course, flustered and embarrassed Tali more so than if he'd merely caught her without saying anything. Inwardly, she hoped that he was not a strict CO, and that her clumsiness would not result in her getting kicked off the highly-advanced military vessel. She hastily disentangled herself from him, almost as if she'd been burned by the contact.

"Oh!" she apprehensively exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I mean, you startled me, and I . . . I. . . ." She rambled on, simultaneously cursing her own _hateful_ defense mechanism, and only stopped when Shepard began to chuckle lightly.

"No harm done," he replied, easily enough. Then, his lopsided smile widened, morphing into a wicked grin. Sometimes, he just couldn't help himself. "After all, I don't have young women throwing themselves at me just _every_ day."

Needless to say, the moment those words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them and cursed his own stupidity. After all, who knew if quarians were inclined to humor the same way that humans were? He knew nothing about them, and had made a generalization that might just prove disastrous. If it'd been Ashley, then she might've scoffed and said, _"In your dreams, Skipper,"_ but this wasn't Ashley, and he had absolutely no way of knowing if he'd made a huge mistake with his teasing.

_What? _At first, Tali didn't understand. And then, she _did_, and her silvery eyes widened.

Inside her helmet, Tali's jaw dropped, and a fierce blush spread across her features as her mind swiftly began racing through a list of possible excuses for this gross breach in behavior. Because it _had_ to be a gross breach in behavior, didn't it? She knew little to nothing about human culture, and she'd had _no idea_ that he would take her clumsiness so seriously, and she certainly hadn't meant to give him _that_ impression, and —

"I was . . . uh, just kidding."

Tali looked up, and stopped her pretending to be fascinated with the floor. Shepard was shifting his weight from one foot to the other whilst simultaneously running an agitated hand through his shock of black hair. He seemed to be trying his very best to appear contrite.

Immediately, she relaxed. "Oh."

An awkward silence had fallen between the two, and Shepard couldn't quite meet her eyes. Instead, he turned to see just what exactly had kept her so enthralled, and his eyes were instinctively drawn to her previous object of admiration. "Um . . . I take it you were just admiring our Tantalus Drive Core, Miss Zorah," he said suddenly, audibly relieved to have found something else to talk about. His eyes turned to hers, and Tali suddenly felt uncomfortable, like he was trying to peer through her polarized visor and catch a glimpse of her face. Which, in fact, was _exactly_ what he was trying to do for the sake of gauging her reaction. "Am I right?"

Tali did not like the sound of 'Miss Zorah.' Though it was nice to be called something so _respectful_ for a change instead of those vulgar insults that were thrown her way in the Citadel's wards, hurtful names such as _'suit-rat'_ and _'quarian-trash,'_ somehow it didn't quite feel right. It was far too impersonal, and not at all conductive to making friends among strangers, and so she internally balked at the idea of being called 'Miss Zorah' any further. Besides, _'Admiral Zorah'_ was her _father's_ title, and definitely not _hers_.

"Please," she said presently, "call me Tali. And yes, I was just admiring the Normandy's drive core . . . It's an impressive piece of technology. There's nothing quite like it back on the flotilla."

"It _is_ beautiful," Shepard agreed, shifting his eyes only momentarily towards the device mentioned, "but I'm afraid the technology itself and how it functions is beyond me." He smiled pleasantly, and shrugged just to emphasize his point. "You'd have to ask Engineer Adams about that. I'm just a soldier."

She wanted to tell him that he was _anything_ but 'just a soldier.' When he, Garrus, and Wrex had charged down that alleyway in the wards, he'd saved her life, and, Keelah, he was humanity's first Spectre! More importantly, he was _trusting_, he hadn't yet called her any of those hurtful insults, and he'd let her in on his mission with only a sidelong glance. _"I'll take all the help I can get,"_ he had wearily said, and with a small smile. _"Welcome aboard."_

"You're sure he wouldn't mind?" Tali asked nervously. "I mean, I wouldn't want to impose if he's busy . . ."

"Adams would love to," said Shepard dryly. "Lately, he's been trying to tell me all about it, but most of the technical stuff goes right over my head. Just not cut out to be an engineer, I guess. Too complicated for my tastes, anyway. But I think he'll be thrilled to have a technological prodigy to talk to about this kind of stuff."

Tali caught the compliment, and blushed furiously. "Oh, I'm not . . ."

Shepard skeptically raised an eyebrow. "You'd have to be, Tali, if you could retrieve that data from a geth's memory core. If anyone else had tried, the geth would just erase everything. And as far as I'm aware, you're the only one who's actually done it, and that takes some skill."

This time, she smiled at the compliment, and Shepard purposely coughed, steering the conversation elsewhere.

"Anyway, I almost forgot why I came down here in the first place. I checked with Lieutenant Alenko, and he said that you haven't been to the mess hall at all today, so I decided to take the liberty of bringing this to you myself, as a sort of welcome-to-the-team gift." As he spoke, he fished around in his pockets for something, eventually found it, and held it out to her on the palm of his hand. It was a package of dextro-based nutrient paste. "Here."

For her own part, Tali was genuinely touched. Never before had someone gone so far out of their way just to make her feel welcome. Because that was what he was doing, wasn't it? Making her feel welcome? She reached out and gingerly took the nutrient paste from his hand.

"That was very kind of you, Commander," she said in an oddly neutral voice. "But you really shouldn't have. I should've gotten it myself." And she should have. Because of her own neglect to eat, Shepard had purposely gone out of his way to bring her some food, and she felt bad.

He merely waved aside her concerns. "Nonsense. And please, if I'm allowed to call you Tali, then you should call me Shepard." He paused, and grinned sheepishly. "Everyone else around here does."

"Thank you, Shepard," she said slowly, and she really, really meant it, though his name felt unwieldy to her mouth. It just didn't _flow_ like quarian names did.

He smiled, and began to explain. "Before we left the Citadel, I arranged for some dextro food to be brought aboard. And you should know that I do my best to make sure that all of my crew are functioning at optimal capacity. After all, we wouldn't make for a very good crew if we were all working half-heartedly."

"I suppose not," she returned. It was such a . . . a _quarian_ thing to say. Something that her father might have said once or twice, and this thought chilled her slightly.

"I'm glad you agree," he said with another lopsided smile. "Now, I'll soon be needed on the bridge for a debrief. You'll let me know if there are any problems or concerns among fellow crewmembers, won't you?" he asked, not unkindly. At first, she didn't quite understand what he was asking for exactly, and then it became quite clear when he pointedly went on. "If there's one thing I won't tolerate on this ship, it's racism."

"If anything comes up, I will," she remarked rather cheerfully.

His smile widened. "Good. Now, if you need me, I'll be on the bridge," he said, taking his leave. Tali watched him go, and as he went, he threw Adams a friendly hullo.

Seconds after Shepard disappeared through the pressurized doors, heading in the direction of the hangar, where she knew the krogan and turian would be, she turned to Engineer Adams, who appeared to be absorbed with whatever data was scrolling across his console.

"Is he always like that?" she asked curiously.

Adams looked up, momentarily appearing confused. "What? You mean Shepard?" She nodded, and he threw her a toothy grin. "Oh, yeah, he's been one of the most generous COs I've ever had the pleasure to serve with. Makes working on this baby a real dream." His eyes were still scrolling across his console's holographic screen as he spoke, and he must've noticed something odd in the data because he frowned, and delved off into talking to himself again. "No, no, this can't be right . . ."

He wasn't listening, and so Tali reluctantly turned back to her own console. _Shepard isn't like other aliens_, she thought to herself. He didn't hassle her or disrespect her heritage. So far, he'd been nothing but courteous and noble (and she was willing to forgive him for his earlier blunder), and she resolved to learn more about his background so she could see what exactly made him different from other humans.

And, for some reason, even as she returned to studying the drive core, she couldn't quite get him out of her head.

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_*gasp* Oh, no! By likening Tali to a red sand addict, you don't suppose she shoots up drugs with kids? Garrus, you've really been a terrible influence on her..._

_And on a more serious note, because I mentioned red sand in this fic, I formally apologize for not including the insanely hilarious volus!god from ME2. I can't help but feel that he would somehow have made this piece better. ;-)_

_Please, read and review to let me know what you think. I love random messages. :-)_


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